EL PASO – Tavorus Jones received a rude welcome to varsity football as a freshman in 2018 when he fumbled twice in his first varsity appearance. He’d make amends the next game, and over the next three seasons to leave El Paso Burges with 3,589 yards rushing and 45 touchdowns on the ground and 72 receptions for 1,298 yards and 14 scores as a receiver out of the backfield. Jones averaged 10.2 yards a carry and 151.2 all-purpose yards per game over his four-year varsity career. 

The Missouri pledge is arguably the best football players to grace the field at Burges, and head coach James Routledge thinks he’s the best player he’ll ever coach. Jones rushed for 1,134 yards as a sophomore. He rushed for 1,673 yards as a senior. He’d likely be closer to 5,000 career rushing yards if not for COVID-19 shortening the El Paso season in 2020 to six games. 

“We started watching him in the seventh grade when he was playing with our feeder school,” Routledge remembered with a smile. “He was the best kid on the field, and he’s remained the best kid on the field all the way up to his senior year. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Jones remembers that first varsity game, and the fumbles. He admits that he was a nervous 14-year-old facing defenders with beards and voting rights. It wouldn’t take Jones long to adjust, however. He broke off a long run in his second game and finished the year with 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 32 carries over the final three games of the season. The fumbles embarrassed him in the moment. Now, he knows those mistakes were the catalyst for him to take over the El Paso football scene over the next three seasons.  

“My coaches told me to calm down and have a short memory,” he recalls. “I picked the speed and physicality of varsity football up pretty quickly and it started slowing down for me after a long run the next game. I knew I could compete after that.” 

Jones became the face of prep football in El Paso. He moved there from Hawaii in fifth grade when his parents, both in the military, were relocated to the part of Texas that is west of West Texas. Jones never enjoyed the constant heat index, but he did enjoy the football. Texas football is a religion, and he was always a natural with a football in his hands. It was the first item he picked up as a child, and he’d grow from flag football to Pop Warner to middle school to varsity football with the same ease he experiences as he glides past opponents. 

“Football is a big deal in El Paso,” Jones said. “We have a great community behind us and supporting us. We’re kind of the only thing out here, so we get a lot of people in the stands showing love.”

Success breeds pressure, and expectations. A great game as a sophomore against Lubbock Cooper caused the Cooper coaches to send his tape to Texas Tech’s staff. His recruiting stock rose after that performance. He’d attend All-American camps and eventually receive his first offer – from the Texas Longhorns – on April 20th of 2020. Alabama offered a month later. Jones became a household name, and that’s tough on a teenager, even if it is a dream fulfilled. 

“We’ve been to three different stadiums where the fans are chanting “overrated” and that is something most kids don’t have to deal with in high school football,” Routledge said. “He’s opened the door to help other kids out in El Paso recruited. He’s put us on the map to help future athletes get more of a look.” 

That was never the goal for Jones. He didn’t ask for that type of platform. Ask him and the young star only wanted to prove that he was the best player on the field. His support system pushed him to aim higher, and now he’s headed to play SEC football. Jones’ head coach doesn’t see a ceiling for Jones as a football player. 

“The sky is the limit with this kid,” Routledge said. “He has a vast amount of potential, so it’ll come down to how hard he is willing to work and push himself at the next level. As long as he sets high expectations, he’ll achieve anything he wants to.”

Jones is a four-star recruit ranked as the 161st best player in the 2022 cycle, according to 247Sports composite rankings. Jones is listed as the 13th best running back in the nation and the 29th best player in Texas.